Abstract
To evaluate the association between the acceptance on the part of the patients and their reasons to consent to or refuse medical student attendance during gynecological outpatient care, considering the participants' demographic characteristics, consultation experience, and gender bias or lack thereof. Face-to-face interviews with patients waiting for gynecological consultations that had been scheduled in advance at Hospital Universitário de Brasília. Contingency analyses were used to determine the levels of association among the patient variables. The accepted significance level was values of p < 0.05. We interviewed 469 patients. The comfort level with the presence of a student was strongly related to the number of students present during the consultation (Cramér V = 0.671). The inclination to grant consent (a series of reasons to consent to or refuse student attendance) was significantly related (p < 0.001) to the overall receptivity to student participation (ρ = 0.482), the positive appraisal of student-doctor demeanor in previous consultations (ρ = 0.253, N = 408), and to greater levels of schooling (ρ = 0.158). The patients' receptivity was significantly related (p < 0.001) to the lack of bias regarding the gender of the physician (Cramér V = 0.388), previous experience with students (Cramér V = 0.235) and awareness of the fact that they would be present (Cramér V = 0.217), older age (ρ = 0.136, p = 0.003), and multiparity (ρ = 0.102, p = 0.027). Greater receptivity to student participation related significantly to five conditions in decreasing order of strength of association: lack of bias regarding the gender of the Ob-Gyn, previous experience with student involvement, awareness of the presence of students, older age, and multiparity. We also found that a more positive inclination to consent to student attendance correlated positively with a greater receptivity to student participation and to a suitable student-doctor demeanor.
Highlights
The participation of medical students in gynecologic consultations appears to be critical for an effective educational experience in women’s medicine
We found that a more positive inclination to consent to student attendance correlated positively with a greater receptivity to student participation and to a suitable student-doctor demeanor
The instrument included questions about demographic features, the number of their consultations attended by medical students, their previous experiences with medical students attending a consultation, whether they had received previous information about the presence of medical students, how comfortable they were with the prospect of student attendance, permission for a gynecological examination, if they felt comfortable refusing, and their gender preference regarding their Ob-Gyn physician
Summary
The participation of medical students in gynecologic consultations appears to be critical for an effective educational experience in women’s medicine. Such experiences enable the enhancement of the clinical skills of the students through patient interaction and by partaking in gynecological care under the careful guidance of the medical team. Not all patients are willing to have medical students present during their appointments, and this mostly depends on the age, expectations, and willingness of the women.[1,2,3,4] gender bias commonly occurs, and restrictions regarding the assistance of male students in gynecological care lead to adverse outcomes, as several authors have reported.[5,6,7]
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